- By Poorva Karki
- Wed, 24 Jan 2024 05:29 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Most Asian countries have always been a land of cultures and traditions. India, Korea, China, Nepal, you name it and there will always be a tradition unique to one of these countries. And without a doubt, Japan is also one such culturally diverse nation that almost never disappoints when it comes to its colourful traditions and lifestyle that its citizens have been following for ages. Amid all the ages-old traditional festivals, there is one, that the people of Japan have been celebrating for 1,250 years; the ‘Naked Man’ festival.
The festival is as unique as it sounds and as fun as one can imagine. However, with its pretty self-explanatory name, by now you must have already guessed that the festival revolves mainly around men. But not anymore, as after 1,250 years, the organisers have finally decided to let women also participate in the ‘Naked Man’ festival. But first, what is the ‘Naked Man’ festival, and why the sudden change?
What is the ‘Naked Man’ festival?
The festival is unique to Inazawa of Japan’s Aichi prefecture and is organised by the Konomiya Shrine. The Hadaka Matsuri, more popular by the name ‘Naked Man’ festival, dates back to more than a thousand years. As the name suggests, men participate in this festival, where they dress in nothing but traditional underwear and try to touch the ‘shin-otoko’ for luck. The ‘shin-otoko’ or ‘godman’, is a symbol of ‘good fortune’, who prays in isolation for several days, and is shaven on the day of the festival. The ‘godman’ is then touched by all the participants, who exchange their bad luck with good luck.
Why the sudden change:
After years of celebrating the festival, the organisers have reportedly allowed the women to participate in some of the festival rituals. As per the media reports, the decision was taken after the organisers received a heavy amount of requests from women.
“We have not been able to hold the festival like we used to for the past three years because of the pandemic and, in the time, we received a lot of requests from women in the town to take part,” Mitsugu Katayama, an organising committee member, was quoted as saying in the media reports.
Apart from the requests, the festival has also witnessed a shift in the participation numbers, which has decreased in recent years. With that in mind, the organisers of many regional festivals are reportedly allowing women to participate, as the male participants is declining.
Meanwhile, some celebrated the change and called it ‘long overdue’. “I am very glad to hear this and it is a good sign that Japan is moving forward, although it is of course long overdue,” Sumie Kawakami, a Yamanashi Gakuin University professor, was quoted as saying to the South China Morning Post. The festival is scheduled to be held on February 22.